


Epiphany

by Hanaasbananas



Series: Through the realms of old romance [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Bollywood inspired (as always), F/M, Fluff, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Missing Scene, Secret Relationship, Sneaking Around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29476449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanaasbananas/pseuds/Hanaasbananas
Summary: For when she was with Chat; when she stepped into his embrace and let him hold her close, it was as though her heart, thumping steadily in her chest, rose and took flight instead.Missing moment fromPhantoms in the Darkbut can be read as a standalone.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Through the realms of old romance [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934101
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	Epiphany

**Author's Note:**

> While this takes place in between chapters 6 and 8 of Phantoms in the dark, you **do not have to read that to understand this story.**  
>  This is entirely self indulgent because I missed these two. So much. And when I found the notes for a scene that didn't make the cut in the main story, I decided to write it anyway. 
> 
> For those waiting on Forgotten Promises: I haven't forgotten (heh) about it! I'm just really proud of Phantoms and don't want to half ass the sequel, so I'm Plotting. A task made more difficult by the fact that all my in depth notes were on Scrivener and got lost when my laptop crashed rip
> 
> This fic was also inspired by the song & music video for [Pareshaan](https://youtu.be/zQl7zYkEP6M)

_Why does my new vision,  
search for you everywhere?  
Why do all these new places  
stare at me so?_

**Paris, September 1788**

“—nette. Marinette!” Madame Daquin rapped her sharply on the knuckles, jolting Marinette out of her daydream. “Where’s your head at, girl?” 

“Sorry, madame,” she murmured, resuming her stitches hurriedly, “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Well I could see _that_!” Madame retorted “you haven’t made a single stitch in ten minutes. You’re hardly going to finish that dress if you let your mind wander like that.”

“It won’t happen again.” 

Madame sniffed reproachfully. “See to it that it does not!”

Marinette bowed her head over the fabric to hide the flush that coloured her cheeks; focusing instead on the repetitive motion of the needle going in and out of the fabric, creating a neat row of stitches along the hem of her dress. It was simple work, and often made it easy for her thoughts to stray elsewhere, focusing on other things. Or rather, other _people_. 

It had been only two weeks since she and Chat had begun their romance. Though they had met only a handful of times since then, Marinette found herself becoming increasingly more distracted, her eyes searching for him wherever she went, no matter how many times she told herself he was not there. 

Constance had taken to teasing her incessantly about it, delighted at how the tables had turned, and Marinette could not even refute her best friend's claims. 

Some nights, it confused her, thinking about how quickly she’d found that her heart was no longer her own; how all it had taken was one kiss, one brush of his fingers through her hair for that heady, intoxicating feeling to settle in her bones, leaving her yearning, _aching_ for Chat’s touch whenever he was near. 

“Is that how it felt,” she’d asked Constance on one of the days she’d actually gone to see her friend, instead of using her as an excuse to meet Chat. “With you and Charles? When you were courting?” 

“Yes,” Constance had grinned “it’s a _delightful_ feeling, isn’t it?”

“It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.” 

Marinette thought sometimes, that the intensity of her feelings should have scared her, and perhaps it did, a little, but she wouldn’t change it for the world. For when she was with Chat; when she stepped into his embrace and let him hold her close, it was as though her heart, thumping steadily in her chest, rose and took flight instead.

* * *

“Plagg!” Chat waved his kwami over from behind the inn, opening his coat to let the being settle inside as he made his way into the town. “Did you do it?”

“What do you take me for?” Plagg groused “of _course_ I did. She’ll see the note as soon as she gets into her room. Now you owe me an _entire_ pig's trough worth of cheese.” 

“That’s not gonna happ- _ow!”_ Chat hissed as Plagg bit him. Hard. “What was that for?”

Plagg glared up at him. “ _We had an agreement!”_

“I said I’d give you cheese, I didn’t say how much.”

Plagg bit him again. 

“Oh for-” Chat veered into the nearest alleyway, reaching into his coat to grab the kwami, who continued to look at him with murderous intent. “You’ll get your cheese,” he promised. “It will not be a pig’s trough” he continued when Plagg opened his mouth to protest, “but it will be a sizable basket. Now stop biting me!”

* * *

The note was waiting for her on her bed when she came home, written in Chat’s hand. Glancing over her shoulder, Marinette shut the door behind her and leaned against it, breaking the seal and reading the message within. 

_Meet me by our spot at sunrise tomorrow._

Reading it twice over, she traced the letters with her fingers, held it to her chest, and smiled.

* * *

Marinette was already waiting for him when he arrived the next morning. She could have been anyone, with the hood pulled low over her head and her face concealed, but her cloak was pinned with the brooch they’d agreed upon for him to identify her. 

Their meeting spot was a small grove of trees a mile or so down the road from her parents' inn-easy to get to, and away from the town and any prying eyes. Marinette stood just under the shade of the trees, though it was early enough that few people were out on the roads who might see them. 

It was the ideal place for many of their short rendezvous’s, where Marinette would meet him during the day, or evenings when he didn’t come to the inn yard, but today, Chat had different plans for their day. 

“Good morning, my darling!” Chat spoke cheerfully, dismounting from Voltaire as Marinette stepped forward to meet him. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her softly in greeting before taking her hand and helping her up onto his horse. 

“And just _where_ are you taking me on this fine morning, Chat Noir?” she asked, leaning back against his chest like it was second nature, and he grinned.

It hadn’t taken her very long to adapt to riding. He remembered the first time he’d taken her out on Voltaire, how unsure she’d been of how to sit, her back ramrod straight as she made sure that their bodies did not touch. Until he’d bucked Voltaire a little so that she fell back against him, and hearing his laughter, had found herself relaxing, and tucking her head underneath his chin. 

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Chat laughed, reaching around her to grab the reins, urging Voltaire forward. “We wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise now, would we?”

* * *

“I’m not taking another step until you tell me where we’re going.” Marinette’s threat lacked heat, occupied as she was with stomping on a bramble that had wrapped itself around her foot.

They’d been walking for half an hour now through the woods, and Marinette’s hair had begun to escape it’s braid, strands of hair plastered to her forehead with perspiration.

“I mean it, Chat!” He had gone ahead of her, forging their path, but Marinette didn’t follow, holding onto a low tree branch to keep her balance as she disentangled herself.

“Alright,” Chat turned around with a shrug, a mischievous glint in his eye that did not bode well for her. Marinette held her hands out in front of her, backing away slowly, but he continued to advance, laughing at her panicked expression. They might have found themselves all the way back on the road if her heel hadn’t caught on a large tree root, and as she flailed, her arms windmilling by her sides, Chat leapt forward and quickly swept her up in his arms, carrying her as though she was light as a feather and turning back the way they came. 

“Chat, put me down!” Marinette exclaimed, hitting her fist against his chest but he hardly broke his stride, grinning down at her.

“Ah, but my lady, you _did_ say that you didn’t want to walk again, didn’t you? I’m merely fulfilling your wishes.” 

Marinette shook her head in exasperation “you’re incorrigible.”

“Only for you, darling,” he winked, his grin widening when she flushed a deep crimson. “Now...it should be here somewhere..ah!” 

Anything Marinette might have said in response was forgotten the instant Chat set foot in the glade, all the breath leaving her lungs as she stared in wonder. She hardly noticed Chat set her down, her hand still gripping onto the front of his coat. 

It was as though they’d stepped into another world, the dense, overgrown trees and shrubbery of the forest behind them falling away to reveal the glade, full to the brim with wildflowers; a riot of colours and scents that made her head spin. A small stream wound through the glade, bordered by ferns and smooth stones, and beside it...beside it was a picnic basket. 

“I take it you like your surprise,” Chat sounded amused, though she detected a hint of nervousness in his tone. Marinette whirled around to hug him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. 

“Chat, it’s _beautiful!”_ she pulled back, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

Just like it always did, kissing Chat sent a thrill down her spine, like lightning coursing through her veins. Tangling her fingers in his hair, she lightly scratched at his scalp, smiling against his lips when he hummed and pulled her closer, one of his hands coming up to cup her neck, the other wrapped tightly around her waist as his lips slanted over hers, his teeth tugging lightly on her bottom lip and making her groan against his mouth. 

When they finally pulled apart, breathing heavily and resting their foreheads together, they were significantly more dishevelled than before. Marinette blinked slowly, reveling in the pure adoration she saw in Chats eyes. “But what’s the occasion?” she asked. 

Chat raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a smirk. “Must there be one? What if I just wished to spend time with the beautiful woman that I am courting? We don’t do it enough as it is, and here, we can spend the entire day together.” He pecked her on the lips, “undisturbed. Come now,” Chat grasped her hand pulling her along to where the picnic basket sat beside the stream. 

As she watched him prepare their breakfast feast; pulling out all manner of fruits, and pastries, breads and cheeses and meats, Marinette realised with a sudden clarity that—

“Is everything alright?” Chat had caught her staring, and she nodded, feeling a smile tug at her lips. 

_I love you,_ she almost said, but bit back the words. Too soon. It was too soon. But it was as though something had shifted inside her, making room for this one unshakeable truth to slot into place. A place she hadn’t even known existed, but was now keenly aware of with every breath that she took, every beat of her heart. _I love you,_ she thought again, feeling giddy with the knowledge. 

Chat was still looking at her, his head tilted curiously to the side and she squeezed his hand, “It’s nothing,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder, smiling when she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m just…so very happy.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I thought it was a nice touch to have Marinette's realisation just hit her suddenly, because in chapter 8 of Phantoms I mentioned that for Adrien, 'the revelation hadn't struck at once'.


End file.
